Tom brady sits with his legs crossed and looks into the camera in the video. He’s trying to describe how bad things had been between him and bill belichick in the late 2010s, towards the end of their 20-year partnership with the new england patriots.
By now, everyone knows how that time came to an end, with brady fleeing the often-miserable ship belichick presided over for greener pastures in tampa bay. Belichick didn’t give brady the two-year, $50 million deal he needed, one that would have given him the stability he needed.
For years, brady has been blamed for his inability to return to the patriots. but in a recent 10-episode documentary on the patriots dynasty, brady explains that his departure had more to do with who was coaching the team than with the amount of money he was given. “me and coach Belichick, we did what we loved and competed for 20 years together,” brady said. “but even if i wanted to play until (i was) 50,” he said, “i wasn’t going to sign another deal (in new england”). I wasn’t going to sign up for more of it given how things had gone.
On friday, apple tv+ will debut “the dynasty,” a long documentary with two episodes scheduled for the next five weeks. It’s been described as a look back at the patriots’ history between 2000 and 2020, including brady’s rise to prominence after drew bledsoe’s injury, how the pats won three super bowls in four years, the subsequent scandals, and how a second dynasty flourished before crumbling amid fractured families.
For patriots fans who want to relive the early years of the dynasty, those early episodes are worthwhile. The middle episodes are also a good option for patriots haters who want to revel in some new information about spygate, deflategate, and the team’s other indiscretions.
The Good. The Bad…and the untold story.
The Dynasty: New England Patriots premieres February 16. pic.twitter.com/VcOAr33hrn
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) January 9, 2024
But more than anything, the documentary is a reflection on how bad the brady-belichick affair was and why it never had a storybook ending with the two riding off into the sunset. Despite the fact that the interviews were conducted months before Belichick split, brady, Belichick, patriots owner robert kraft, nfl commissioner Roger Goodell, and almost every well-known patriots player over the past two decades (except, perhaps, jerod mayo) talk openly about Belichick all-encompassing, dictatorial style. Matthew slater said, “it was brutal.” Rob gronkowski described coming up to 1 patriot place and not wanting to get out of his car to go to work. Brady was likened to an abused dog who would return to work for belichick for a long time. wes welker compared him to an abused dog.
Last month, ESPN made national news when someone referred to this forthcoming documentary as a “infomercial” for kraft’s pro football hall of fame bid after Belichick departure from the patriots. This documentary, which the athletic was able to film for this review, is not that. It’s much more focused on brady’s friendship with Belichick, and it’s the most comprehensive account of how miserable people in the building were in the final years of their dynasty.
Or at least that’s the juiciest, most exciting part. the first few episodes focus on the beginning of the patriots dynasty. Even if those early episodes don’t make news, it’s still interesting to hear from bledsoe and brady about the injury-sparked transition. Spygate, aaron hernandez’s detention, and deflategate are the middle episodes (specifically the fourth, sixth, and seventh). There are also memorable scenes in those films, including robyn glaser, the patriots’ executive vice president of football business and senior advisor to the head coach, who recently reenacted to the spygate tapes with a hammer.
For fans who want to relive the glory days, those early episodes are worthwhile, and the middle ones are interesting, even though the series slowed down and dragged a bit in those areas. It should be noted that the documentary does not cover belichick’s departure from the team last month or mayo’s promotion to head coach as a result of kraft’s little-known succession strategy.
